


Love Language of the Tactile

by Fictropes



Series: 25 fics advent [8]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Office AU, non-youtuber dan and phil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:46:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27847102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fictropes/pseuds/Fictropes
Summary: “I’m just— that’s a hypothetical.” Dan leans in this time, takes the touches that Phil always so freely gives away. “Can’t kiss in secret rooms if I leave.”
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Series: 25 fics advent [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022262
Comments: 13
Kudos: 75





	Love Language of the Tactile

There’s a soft silence to Phil’s love, in the way he's always touching, always lingering in halls to catch up with Dan even though they saw each other barely an hour ago. 

He’ll act surprised when Dan walks through the office door, pretend he’d not been stood there waiting to say hello. 

“What? No one sending you penis enlargement emails today?” Dan asks, shoving a stack of papers into Phil’s arms—he can deal with them this time, with all the mess. 

“I set up a spam filter, a really good one! No viagra, no trying to get me to join pyramid schemes, only me and corporate secretly getting it on under the guise of contract law.”He sounds pretty pleased with himself, waffles on all the way down the corridor. Dan just laughs when he’s supposed to, holds open the door for Phil because he’s two seconds away from walking into it. 

He’s in a bit of a mood today, got a warning from the higher ups for missing deadlines— for daring to have a life outside of work.

“Cool.” He answers, brain working on a delay— only Phil’s questioning stare prompting him into actually using his mouth. 

Then there it is— a brief touch of delicate fingers against his wrist, Phil stepping in close to comfort him the way he knows best. 

He hadn’t understood it at first, why this bloke in his office was so—sothere all the time. In his space, reaching out, biting on his shoulder at the Christmas party when he got a bit too drunk. He gets it now, the love language of the tactile. 

“Dan.” He tugs at his sleeve, they’re in an empty hallway and Phil gets bolder when no one else is around. Instead of fleeting touches, they’re solid and noticeable, and— comforting, they’re comforting. The hand wrapped around his wrist, carefully pulling him into an empty meeting room is doing something to all the _too loud_ in Dan’s brain. 

“Should’ve gone for a cleaning closet, the glass is only half frosted in here,” He tips his head toward it to make a point, to turn all of this into a joke that Phil won’t buy. “And not even the good half of the glass, you can see everything waist down.”

“You ever going to stop trying to blow me at work?” Phil asks, a smile on his lips that doesn’t quite reach his eyes— Dan's whole attempt at distraction not working.

“No.” Dan answers, not missing a beat. “Gotta get you back for the whole hand job in the toilet during Christmas.”

“Christmas parties don’t count, it’s like liminal space but… liminal time.” 

“Stop saying stuff wrong.”

“You stop saying stuff wrong.” Phil still has a hand on him, like he’s Dan’s personal tether to the earth— to let go would be to send Dan flying off into space. 

They bicker back and forth for a few minutes, Phil getting all handsy when Dan says something stupid— backing him up against the table just because he can. 

“You ok?”

Dan shrugs, a little up and down of his left shoulder where Phil’s hand is. “Just— you know, life.”

“Mhm.” Phil agrees, then there are fingers tips against his pulse-point— tapping along in a rhythm that doesn’t match that of his heart. “Imagine if your heart was actually going this quickly.”

“Mate, I’d be dead.”

  
“Stop mating me, was inside you last night.” 

“All my mates—“ He gets cut off because Phil decides enough is enough, leans in to kiss the words away. 

“You should apply for that job you saw the other day, know you were excited about it.” Of course he does, of course Dan’s acts never work on Phil. “You know you don’t have to stay here cos I work here, yeah?”

  
  
“I know.” But the fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck tell him the opposite, tell him he should stay here, that going anywhere else would mean losing this. “I know.”

  
  
“You know.” 

“Yeah— fuck, I know, but I’m being a brat about it. I like that you’re just here and I can come see you whenever I feel like it.” Dan tries not to whine, but it comes out sounding an awful lot like a complaint. “Like who do I go see there? Fucking— I don’t know. Big Alan who will… what? Give me a shoulder slap.”

  
  
“Big Alan?” Phil snorts. “Didn’t know you were on such friendly terms with everyone at the job you haven’t applied to.”

“I’m just— that’s a hypothetical.” Dan leans in this time, takes the touches that Phil always so freely gives away. “Can’t kiss in secret rooms if I leave.”

  
  
“Hope not.” Phil makes Dan budge over until they can both sit on the edge of the table, pressed together at every point— it’s never any other way. “But i’ll still kiss you the second you get home, and i’ll still walk into your Christmas party and bite you so everyone knows you’re someone else’s to bite.”

“Claiming me via gatecrashing? Hot.” He tips his head until it lands with a soft thud on Phil’s shoulder, smiles when Phil lets out a little noise of content with meaning to. 

“They’ll speak about it for years, I think.” Phil, predictably, rests his cheek on Dan’s curls— even though he complains every time that they tickle. “That hot vampire dude who walked in and bit our new intern.”

“Oi! I’m not— fuck off, i’m not an intern.” 

“Ok, sorry, you’ll walk in there and through the power of your arse alone you’ll become the boss immediately.” Phil soothes, and he doesn’t even sound condescending— sounds like he bloody means it. 

“You said it was flat.”

  
  
“I like pancakes.” 

Dan laughs, because he can’t help it— because it’s such a Phil thing to say. “That’s gotta be the most backhanded compliment i’ve ever got. “

“Payback for you saying you wouldn't bang Voldemort, or something.”

“Or something.” Dan’s the one to offer out his hand, to intertwine their fingers on top of a table that they really shouldn’t be sat on. It’s honestly been fun, trying to act like they’re not madly in love, to act like spies sneaking around to steal kisses and talk about what they’ll have for dinner when they get home. “I think my leaving gift should be I blow you under your desk.”

  
  
“That’ll be my leaving present too, cos they’ll fire me whilst my dick is still hanging out of my trousers.” Phil shuffles closer, close enough to practically be sitting on Dan’s lap. “That mean you’re going to apply?” 

“Think so.” Dan bites at his bottom lip, thinks it over— a life without Phil constantly there. He should do it, apply, leave, go live his life in a way that’ll make him happy. “You promise you’ll be at home? That you won’t dump me cos— you were like oh can’t break up with him whilst he still works here cos it’ll be awkward.”

  
  
“Dan.” Phil sighs, a great big heaving thing— and Dan’s the dramatic one in the relationship, apparently. “I love you, i’ll love you even if I don’t get to see your stupid face over the computer screen every time I walk down the hall.”

It’s a rare one, a rare spoke out-loud show of affection, one that Dan locks away in his brain to play on repeat later. “Big Alan doesn’t think my face is stupid.”

“No, he thinks it’s ridiculous.” 

They fight for no reason, wrestle in the middle of their very adult job, because they’re both childish and— because sometimes Dan needs to touch just as much as Phil. They come close to tongues down each others throat whilst sprawled out on a table, but then they hear voices down the hall. 

“Last time we nearly get caught doing things we shouldn’t.” 

“Fuck it, tongue fuck me.” 

“You’re vulgar, you know that?” Phil asks, but he does it anyway. They’re a second away from getting fired before Dan even gets the chance to quit, but Phil does the responsible thing of standing up and leaving Dan kiss-less. 

“And—” Phil clears his throat just as the door opens, “that is why they can’t use that name for their company.”

**Author's Note:**

> [if u wanna reblog on tumblr! I always appreciate it :)](https://fictropes.tumblr.com/post/636435197171302400/love-language-of-the-tactile-complete-1369-im)
> 
> as always, lemme know what u think ;_; i really do appreciate your comments so, so much!!!!!<3
> 
> (tongue fuck sounds like phil just rimmed him on the table lmaoooo, promise it was just a lil too much tongue in mouth action)


End file.
